Some things never change
by Gid n Fab
Summary: What would happen if the year Sirius went into Azkaban was the year that a certain woman had a baby? We know the father, so why doesn't Daina? When she attends Hogwarts she meets Harry and everything gets clearer
1. Becoming Aquainted with Sherbet Lemons

Hi everyone! I hope you like this fanfic, it's mainly written by me, Lizzy, but Loralai helps out a lot as well. This fanfic was moved from my account, mysticaldreams to our account Gid n Fab cos we hadn't had any fanfics on it and cos Loralai thought I should put it on here cos she helps with it. Well now that all that explaining is over and done with, it's time to get on with the fanfic! Well I hope you like it, don't bother flaming cos I'll just laugh at you, flames are very funny, call my sense of humour weird but I won't be intimidated by any act of cruelty. Reviews are greatly appreciated and constructive criticism is all good, I like to know how to improve. Thanks and enjoy!  
  
~*~Lizzy and (not technically) Loralai  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the character or places that are stated in the Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling or anything else that's in this fanfic which is clearly affirmed in the book. Dain and Hanorah are my own work.  
  
Some Things Never Change  
  
Chapter 1: Becoming acquainted with sherbet lemons.  
  
"Dain! Come down here quick! You'll freeze to your broom if you stay out in this weather and I already have enough patients without having to look after you as well" An elderly witch with white, fly away hair yelled through the torrential rain to her granddaughter.  
  
Dain's head shot upwards and she halted her broom with a sudden jerk as she heard her name. Her new friend tossed the quaffle at her but it zoomed right past her to be lost in the on-going sheets of rain.  
  
"Sorry Pete, I have to go" she shouted through the rain at a barely visible boy only a few metres away.  
  
"Ok, nice playing with you Dain" he shouted back.  
  
"Bye!"  
  
Dain zoomed towards her grandmother's voice and after spotting her landed softly by her side, not seeming to mind the soaking rain at all.  
  
Hanorah McCormack ushered her granddaughter into a small hotel that was currently housing them, Dain drenched from head to toe and looking positively delighted about it. On the other hand Hanorah looked thoroughly agitated about being soaked and took no means what so ever to hide it.  
  
The few witches and wizards and occasional hags sitting lazily in the lobby turned to look at the two newcomers. No one would blame them for their incredulous looks, as even when Hanorah and Dain were not soaked to the bone they were looked at the same way, even in the wizarding world. Neither of them seemed to care, or take any notice of their on-lookers which was well expressed by the shocking colours of bright purple, orange, green and black all mixed into the same woolen jacket that the self-spoken witch healer was currently wearing.  
  
Dain came bouncing in behind her, her short black hair sticking to her scalp from the down pour, all traces of the half a tube of gel she had used that morning ridden of. She was a reasonably good looking girl if you looked past the black leather, pinned pants and florescent top that read 'The voices in my head don't like you'.  
  
The hearty middle-aged bar tender laughed as they approached the counter and he set down the glass he was cleaning with an old rag.  
  
"If I told anyone you were the greatest healer in a century with viritaserum, looking at you now, they still wouldn't believe me!" he said, grinning at Hanorah.  
  
"Don't judge a book by its cover" Hanorah huffed indignantly. She then threw a glare at Dain, who looked back at her innocently.  
  
This made the bar tender laugh even more.  
  
"And what if I told all of these good people that you used to play Puck in a Mid Summer Night's dream on a traveling road show, what would they think of you then Jim?" Hanorah asked slyly.  
  
Jim stopped laughing abruptly and after a swift panicked expression flew across his face he grinned again.  
  
"Don't ask me how you know everything you do, but we're even" he said tossing Dain the keys to their room.  
  
Hanorah's crystal blue eye's glittered mischievously as they both retreated up the stairs to their small apartment.  
  
Dain ran up with the keys and quickly opened the apartment door to reveal a small lounge room, painted a light blue, coming off it a kitchen and on the other side, a hallway that lead to two small bedrooms.  
  
The two occupants had only been living here for a week, but their material possessions had slowly found themselves littered around the rooms. Dain's various bits of homework and quills were scattered all over the oak coffee table and Hanorah's many piles of healing books were sitting on top of the kitchen counter and table.  
  
Dain sighed, no matter where she was, their possessions always made where they were staying feel like home. . .not that her grandmother and herself really had a home. Their home was together on the road, traveling, and that's what made Dain's life such an adventure.  
  
As she heard her grandmother approach the door she tossed the keys carelessly onto the coffee table and ran towards the bathroom. As Hanorah caught sight of where Dain was heading she picked up her skirt and dashed after her, even though she was slowly growing older she refused to let her stride change in any way.  
  
Dain slammed the bathroom door and locked it just as Hanorah reached the small hallway.  
  
"Daina Candida McCormack open this door right now!" Hanorah shouted through the wood.  
  
"I was the one who came out to get you out of the rain before you developed menacles disease! I deserve to be in that hot shower before you!" She screeched as her wet skirt dripped onto the carpet. However, all attempts of getting into the bathroom were to no prevail as she heard the shower start up and billows of steam started clouding underneath the bathroom door.  
  
Realising defeat she grumbled to herself as she walked back into the small lounge room and switched on the wizarding wireless as she made herself a hot cup of tea.  
  
About a half an hour later Dain emerged from the bathroom in her purple flannelette pajamas with her short hair sticky out at all ends in a wet mess.  
  
Hanorah looked up at her sixteen year old granddaughter over her book and scowled. She had, by then, dried off completely and her hair was looking equally as wild.  
  
Dain didn't take any notice of her expression and went over to pour herself a cup of tea.  
  
"I need to talk to you about something" Hanorah stated, all grouchiness swept from her voice.  
  
"I didn't send Meaghan that letter, it was Kirley!" Dain blurted out, her voice sounding panicked.  
  
Hanorah's face of surprise suddenly changed to amusement.  
  
"That's not what I wanted to talk about, but I'll be sure to tell your Aunt Catriona that it was you" she said with an evil glint in her eye.  
  
Dain thought gloomily about her cousin playing Keeper for the Pride of Portree quidditch team and her own failed attempts of trying to get Meaghan to let her join the team. When Meaghan had said Dain was too young she sent her a packet of self-exploding dung bombs that had, unfortunately exploded right in front of Dain's Aunt Catriona's face.  
  
"Though I do feel sorry for Kirley, everyone seems to blame everything on him" Hanorah affirmed calmly.  
  
"Well he's Meaghan's brother, brothers usually do things like that" Dain said grumpily, cranky at getting caught.  
  
"Not twenty-one year old brothers, they have better things to do"  
  
"So what do you want to talk to me about?" Dain asked curiously, sitting down opposite Hanorah.  
  
"Well as you know I've been a traveling healer for almost thirty years now and I am getting older-"  
  
"Nan, just get to the point" Dain said irritably, "I'm not five anymore, you don't have to explain everything"  
  
"Alright, alright" Hanorah sighed.  
  
"I'm thinking of retiring"  
  
"WHAT?!" Dain yelled in shock, jumping out of her chair.  
  
Hanorah also jumped in surprise at Dain's outburst.  
  
"Merlin's beard girl! You're going to give me a heart attack!"  
  
"You can't retire! You're the best healer in a century!" Dain stated, still on her feat.  
  
"I'm not giving up healing Dain, I'm just saying, that maybe it would be for the best if we stopped traveling and settled down somewhere so you could start a proper life, you're nearly out of school years and you've only learnt all the basics from home schooling for every other subject other than what you need to know for healing" Hanorah said evenly.  
  
"I do have a proper life" Dain declared, "How more proper can a life be when you've traveled all over the world!"  
  
"It depends on what you classify as 'proper' Dain, my proper life is to settle down in one place and continue my healing there, let you make friends and keep them and send you to school where you can have a proper education" Hanorah explained.  
  
Dain looked sadly out of the window to see the rain pouring down over the fresh, grassy hills of Ireland. She'd been traveling all her life, she couldn't imagine living in the one place. Meeting new people and fitting in with different cultures had always been such an adventure for her, to throw that all away and settle down in one place seemed boring to her now. She then thought about how nice it would be to make close friends and be able to keep them close for the rest of her life. She had always found that on their trips at first it had been extremely difficult to make friends in the short time they were in the one place, but after a while, she had gotten used to it, and had learned to make friends with others quickly, but the longer they stayed, the closer her friends became, and she always found it teary every time she had to say goodbye.  
  
"I guess it wouldn't be too bad" she admitted, looking down at her teacup.  
  
Hanorah new who Dain was thinking about. The girl had practically met her twin soul in their stay at Australia. Peta had been just as mischievous as Dain and even livelier. Dain had wanted to stay in Australia the day they were to leave but new she couldn't.  
  
"Ever since your grandfather died when your mother was young I've been trying to run away from the memories so I'd never stay in one place for too long, but now I think it's time that I face my fear" Hanorah said with determination.  
  
Dain looked at her grandmother in awe, she never shared her emotions with anyone, Dain supposed that it came with the art of healing, that you could never let your emotions stir with a patient otherwise you would hate your job if you let them down. Only few people had ever seen Hanorah McCormack's soft side, but the one's that did never again would judge others on first impressions.  
  
"So where were you thinking of settling down?" Dain asked quietly.  
  
"London" Hanorah confirmed, "I was thinking of putting in for place at St. Mungo's hospital there"  
  
Dain smiled slightly, she was pleased with prospect of living in the city. She loved the roar of traffic and never sleeping excitement of the packed streets and tall buildings. The city always gave off the vibes of exhilarating adventure, and adventure and Dain stuck together like peas and carrots.  
  
"There is another reason why I chose to go to London" Hanorah ploughed on, "I was planning on sending you to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry"  
  
Dain's eyes grew wide as she stared at her grandmother.  
  
"I know the headmaster there; he's a good man and a brilliant wizard. I'm sure he'd allow you to attend in your appropriate year if you wanted to go. . ." Hanorah left the question hanging.  
  
Dain just stared at Hanorah, surprised at her proposition, thoughts were racing through her head like bludgers, and at any moment in time they would all impact and she'd feel the full blow of her decision.  
  
"I'd stay in London for your school year and then you can come home to live with me for the holidays" Hanorah said encouragingly.  
  
Dain didn't know what to say, her whole life was changing in a matter of minutes, the prospect was positively frightful. She new Hanorah had planned this for a long time and was telling Dain this as a proposition to get her approval when really, she didn't have a say in the matter of moving. But somehow she knew that she had the choice of going to Hogwarts; it was her own decision.  
  
For a moment, Dain was tempted to tell her grandmother that she would keep traveling even if she did not but when the absurdity of this statement hit her she immediately decided against it. She thought of her mother's diary that she had found amongst Hanorah's possessions and read and pondered on how she had always said in her diary entry's that she would love to learn more of the subjects provided in wizarding schools instead of only learning the higher qualities of transfiguration, potions, charms and herbology. She recalled how Joslen had taken such a great interest in Defense against the Dark Arts but only new the basics to counteract bites and stings made by dark magical creatures. In one diary entry in particular it said that she would give anything to be able to be taught the subject by a qualified teacher.  
  
Dain had often wondered what it would be like to go to school. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all. . .maybe she could do what her mother had never gotten the chance to do when she was alive. . .  
  
Dain snapped out of her musings when Hanorah spoke up again.  
  
"I know this is a lot for you to take in at the one time. But I think it's something that we both need to do Dain" she confirmed. She then patted her on the hand and stood up.  
  
"Just think about it, I don't need an answer straight away but I think it would be very beneficial" she said, and then added, just as she was about to turn away, "I don't want you making the same mistake as your mother"  
  
Dain new what she was talking about, and could see that unmistakable sadness that engulfed her crystal blue eyes every time Joslen was mentioned. Hanorah was talking about the fact that Joslen had fallen pregnant with Dain so young.  
  
"If you had a chance, would you take me back, change the past so that she didn't have me?" Dain asked quietly.  
  
"No m'dear, what is, is, and everything is done for a reason, you are a gift and as long as you are here I will love you always"  
  
Dain didn't know what to make of this, she new she had gone too far to ask that question. She was practically asking Hanorah to pick between her granddaughters life, or her daughters, and she soon felt guilty for asking such a serious question. But at the same time she was surprised by the answer, this was too much emotion in the one day, she had never heard her grandmother open up to her like this, it was sort of freaking her out, so she decided to turn the conversation around.  
  
"Did you go to Hogwarts?" Dain asked curiously.  
  
"Yes, many magical students from Europe went to Hogwarts" Hanorah said proudly, smiling again.  
  
"Di-did my father go?" Dain asked hesitantly, wondering if she was bighting off more then she could chew.  
  
Hanorah's face hardened slightly and then she replied stiffly, "Yes, he was in Gryffindor house"  
  
Dain didn't know why Hanorah's tone and face went suddenly dark whenever the topic of her father came about. She had first of all felt that maybe her grandmother blamed the pregnancy of Joslen on him but after a while, knew it was more then just that. She had tried to worm the reason out of Hanorah but she wouldn't tell her anything about him. 'It's for your own good' she always said, Dain didn't even know his name.  
  
She decided to turn the subject back; she couldn't stand that expression on her grandmother's face.  
  
"So what are the houses?"  
  
Hanorah's face brightened as she started to explain all of the houses and their various meanings, they talked for a long while about Hogwarts until it started to get dark outside and Hanorah declared that she needed to have that hot shower that she had been waiting for.  
  
As she started to head towards the hallway Dain's conscience started a war against her curiosity and after a short fight, the curiosity won and she found herself blurting out a question that she had, before hand, found she was too frightened to ask.  
  
"What was his name Nan?"  
  
Hanorah slowly turned around to meet Dain's pleading eyes and knew she couldn't keep pushing her off forever.  
  
Hanorah sighed, but after some quick thinking replied.  
  
"His friends called him Padfoot" and then turned around and walked grudgingly towards the bathroom.  
  
She then found her own mind once again arguing with itself over the same dispute it had been fighting over ever since Dain was born.  
  
Ever since Dain was able to talk she had known that her mother had died in child birth and just like that, she had grown up with the false information that her father was dead also. Hanorah new that she had a right to know, she had a right to know who her father was, but she kept asking herself the same question, 'who would want to know their father was a murderer and traitor?' No she convinced herself best she thinks of him as someone to look up to. She told herself over and over again that it was fair enough to tell Dain that her father was dead, she had only been to the wizarding prison once; she had heard the screaming, the pleading, the begging and had seen the never ending vortex of misery that engulfed that darkened place, and she had known that when you were taken for a life's sentence into Azkaban, you were as good as dead.  
  
Sirius Black was her father, and he deserved to be dead.  
  
In a weeks time Dain and Hanorah found themselves walking up the steps to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to knock on the large oak doors.  
  
Hanorah felt like she was eleven again, arriving at the school for the first time in, she didn't know how many years.  
  
Dain's nerves were on end; eagles were flapping around her stomach as she knocked on those great doors and for about the fiftieth time looked up at the towering castle. It was beautiful in the moonlight.  
  
They both listened for an answer and soon enough they heard brisk foot falls muffled slightly by the thick wood approaching.  
  
The heavy doors swung open to reveal a tall woman around the same age as Hanorah herself who had her hair tied into a tight bun on the top of her head. At first impression she looked very severe and Dain new straight away that she would be an authority figure, not a person to cross with any nonsense. But to Dain's surprise as the woman studied the two visitors standing in front of her, her face lit up and a smile played across her lips.  
  
"Hanorah McCormack! Oh, what a surprise!"  
  
"Minerva! What chances of seeing you here!" Hanorah exclaimed and the two women gave each other a short hug like old friends.  
  
Any of Professor McGonagall's students would have fainted on the spot if they had of seen their strictly professor show such emotion at that time, and Dain, who thought she had had this woman worked out at first glance was even shocked.  
  
"Hanorah, it's wonderful to see you, how's everything going?" Professor McGonagall asked as they let go and she closed the doors behind her.  
  
"Everything's fine Minerva, going well, though I've decided to stop traveling, I've put in a transfer to St. Mungo's. Dain's come to meet Dumbledore for a place at Hogwarts this year" Hanorah said gesturing to her nervous looking granddaughter.  
  
"Oh so this is Daina is it? The headmaster only told me he was going to have an interview with a Daina, he never told me that she was yours" the Professor said.  
  
"It's a pleasure to meet you Miss McCormack" She said, holding out her hand for Dain to shake.  
  
"Come with me and I'll show you to the headmaster's office" She continued happily, and they followed her along the hallways, Dain turning her head left and right, trying to soak in every bit of the magnificent castle.  
  
"So are you a Professor here Minerva?" Hanorah asked as she looked around the familiar halls and many happy memories inched back into her eyes.  
  
"Yes, yes, Transfiguration, I'm also Head of Gryffindor house and Deputy Head Mistress" McGonagall huffed importantly.  
  
"Ah Gryffindor, I always thought Ravenclaw was the best!" Hanorah laughed childishly.  
  
"Oh but you would, you were the one with the smarts Hanorah" Professor McGonagall chuckled to herself.  
  
"So how do you both know each other?" Dain asked, tearing her eyes from a brightly sowed tapestry and towards the two elderly women.  
  
"Your grandmother was in my year when I attended Hogwarts, she was in Ravenclaw and I was in Gryffindor" the Professor informed Dain.  
  
"My father was in Gryffindor" Dain stated happily which earned her a stern look from Hanorah.  
  
"Was he now? Well I might have taught him in my early years, or maybe I might have just missed him going through Hogwarts" Professor McGonagall pondered.  
  
Hanorah did not like where this conversation was heading so she was relieved when Professor McGonagall announced they had arrived at Dumbledore's office.  
  
They stood in front of a particularly horrendous stone gargoyle that Dain presumed, was blocking an entrance to the Headmasters office.  
  
"Licorice wand" the Professor said monotonously, and then, the gargoyle jumped aside to reveal a spiraling, moving staircase.  
  
"Cool" Dain said in awe and the three of them stepped onto the moving stairs and were carried up to a large oak door. The Professor reached for the brass griffon knocker and beat it against the wood firmly three times.  
  
There was a shuffle heard from inside and then the scraping of a chair.  
  
"Come in Professor" a calm voice came from inside.  
  
They all stepped through the door as Professor McGonagall opened it to arrive in a large, round and immaculately clean room full of tiny, shining objects producing strange noises. Covering the walls were many portraits of the prior Hogwarts headmasters and mistresses all dozing lazily in their picture frames. Though, as Dain looked over at the wall where they all hung, she couldn't help but catch sight of a couple of them quickly lift an eye lid to gaze at her.  
  
"Ah, Hanorah McCormack, One of my top students" Dumbledore's voice rang through the office.  
  
Dain turned to come face to face with an old man with a very long white beard and twinkling blue eyes.  
  
"It's a pleasure to see you again Professor Dumbledore" Hanorah said brightly as they shook hands.  
  
"And this must be Daina, am I right?" he said, turning his gaze to look upon Dain.  
  
Dain felt the eagles take flight in her stomach again and was overcome with nerves, this wizard was the most powerful in the world, and she, a girl of sixteen with bad fashion sense who still sleeps hugging her pillow at night, was standing right in front of him feeling very insignificant indeed.  
  
"Y-yeah, thank you sir, you can call me Dain" Dain said a nervously.  
  
He shook her hand and indicated that they may sit.  
  
Dain couldn't help but stare at him in awe; he seemed to give off such a powerful and majestic aura that one felt compelled to show him the deepest of respect.  
  
"So Hanorah, you have decided to stop traveling?" Dumbledore asked.  
  
"Yes, yes, I think it's for the best Dumbledore, I want Dain to get a proper education" Hanorah said solidly.  
  
"And I'm sure Hogwarts will be able to provide her with one!"  
  
"Now Dain, you understand that your exclusion from the declaration of underage wizardry will have to be lifted so you will not be allowed to use magic freely when you are not at Hogwarts?"  
  
"Yes sir"  
  
"But I'm sure it won't be too much of a hassle as at the end of this year you will be able to perform magic whenever you like again, as you will be of age" he continued conversationally.  
  
Dumbledore opened a draw at the side of his desk and took out a tartan tin. He then seized a yellow rapped lolly out of it and popped it into his mouth.  
  
"Would you like a sherbet lemon?" he offered, "I say, the most delicious muggle sweats I have ever tasted"  
  
Dain was a little alarmed at this gesture; she started to wonder if this man was actually stable in the mind. He was a little bit. . .odd. She smiled at the thought, she liked different people, and she decided that Dumbledore was just different. She took one of the carefully rapped lollies and started to suck on it.  
  
"Now, I'm afraid you shall have to take a basic test for a sixth year student to see if you will be able to stay in sixth year without losing your head" he said smiling, "nothing to be nervous about, if you do not get many of the questions right I'm sure we'll be able to work out something to let you stay in with those of your own age anyway" he winked at her.  
  
Dumbledore walked over to a filing cabinet on one of the walls and started shuffling through a draw. After a few minutes of his failed attempts to find what he was looking for he looked up to an old, curly haired lady sleepy soundlessly in her portrait next to the cabinet.  
  
"Elspeth, do you know where I put the sixth year basic examination papers?"  
  
"Third draw, fourth down Dumbledore" The woman said without hesitation.  
  
"Thank you Elspeth, I know I can count on you" he said as he pulled out a crisp piece of parchment.  
  
Elspeth beamed proudly before sinking back into her maroon armchair and closing her eyes.  
  
"Now, Dain, it's only a short examination on all subjects, but it should take a good hour so. . ." he handed her a peacock feather quill, "We will leave you in peace so you will not be distracted as you answer the questions, there are some matters that we must talk to your grandmother about" he smiled warmly at her.  
  
"We will be back soon and good luck!" he walked over to the door, the silver stitching in his robes shining in the candlelight that filled the room. Hanorah and Professor McGonagall followed, Hanorah giving her granddaughters hand a short squeeze before she left.  
  
Dain was left in the office on her own. She sighed and looked down at the paper; she thought she might as well get it over and done with.  
  
As she started her nerves kept her from answering the questions as best she could and she kept having horrible thoughts of if she was put into first year at the age of sixteen and everyone teased her because she would have to hang around with the younger kids. But as she went on she found that the paper wasn't at all that difficult and soon could answer the questions with ease.  
  
Dain finished in three quarters of an hour and she checked over the paper feeling very pleased with herself. She sat back in her chair and placed the long quill on top of her paper. She looked around the magnificent office once more, deciding that it was the only way to keep herself occupied until the trio came back.  
  
Dain walked over to the window and stared out over the darkened Hogwarts grounds. She could see the looming forbidden forest; a shadowy mass in front of her. Hanorah had told her about the forest and Dain thought it was a cause for adventure, her grandmother had warned her not to go near it, knowing that Dain would be tempted, but Dain couldn't help but think of all the exciting creatures and hidden secrets that could be locked away in those thick amounts of trees.  
  
She looked up to the stars and breathed in the fresh night air, yes, she would like Hogwarts, she was sure of it. As she breathed in the smell of pine needles on the wind she was surprised to find a tinge of smoke lingering in the air, it smelt like it was coming from behind her. She whirled around to find, to her utter amazement, a ball of fire levitating in mid air in front of her. She instinctively stepped back but bumped into the wall hitting her head.  
  
"Owe!" she rubbed her head, still staring in wonder at the ball of fire, then, out of the flame emerged one of the most beautiful creatures she had ever seen; a large, gold and read Phoenix.  
  
Dain stared in awe at the creature, her eyes wide as the flames around it vanished and it let out a trill note that seemed to vibrate off the walls. It seemed to stare back at her for a while, as if wondering what she was doing in the headmaster's office, and then, deciding that she wasn't a threat, it flew over and balanced itself on a wooden perch over the other side of the room.  
  
"Whoa" Dain breathed, not daring to take a step closer to the magnificent bird.  
  
"Yes, Fawks always has been one to make an entrance"  
  
Dain's head shot up as she realized that the trio had come back from their walk and were standing in the doorway.  
  
"I-is this your Phoenix sir?" Dain asked in wonder.  
  
"Well I wouldn't say he is my Phoenix, Fawkes belongs to himself, he just chooses to stay with me for some obscure reason that I can not figure, but I am delighted to have him in my company" Dumbledore said, walking over to the Phoenix and smoothing out the feathers on it's golden crusted head.  
  
"Now, how did you go with your test?" he asked, "Did you manage to finish it all?"  
  
"Yes sir, it's all done"  
  
"Good, good" he said walking over to his desk.  
  
"Now if you would like me to mark it now, I shall be happy to do so but if you would rather wait to receive it in the mail and be on your way that can be arranged without hassle" he said calmly.  
  
Hanorah looked over at her granddaughter, knowing very well what she would decide.  
  
"If you could mark it now sir, I think I might be over taken with nerves if I don't find out the answers soon" Dain said, smiling weakly.  
  
Dumbledore smiled at her "That will be fine"  
  
It only took a short while to mark the exam as the questions were all pretty straight forward and took no professional to answer. By the time he was finished Dumbledore handed back the paper beaming.  
  
"You did very well Dain and I'm happy to say that you will be going into sixth year with flying colours"  
  
Dain felt like hugging the old headmaster at that moment but instead settled for looking over her examination.  
  
"You'll need to work a little on Defense Against the Dark Arts and Care of Magical Creatures but other than that, you are set for all of the compulsory subjects. You might, however like to brush up on those subjects that you are deciding to take for electives this year such as Divination and muggle studies" Dumbledore said.  
  
"Thank you sir" she said, beaming back at him.  
  
"Now this is cause for celebration!" Dumbledore said happily.  
  
"Would anyone like another sherbet lemon?"  
  
As Dain and Hanorah arrived by flu back to their apartment in Ireland Dain couldn't stop babbling on about how Hogwarts looked so fascinating. Hanorah had expressed her enthusiasm once or twice but otherwise seemed quite preoccupied. After a while of practically talking to herself Dain started to notice her grandmothers distant behavior.  
  
"Anything wrong Nan?" she asked after keeping quiet for a whole minute.  
  
"No Dain, just thinking, that's all" She said as she snapped back to reality.  
  
"Oh ok"  
  
Dain didn't question further as she was aware that her grandmother usually slipped in and out of daydreams but she still looked a little agitated as Dain started to make tea.  
  
Dain asked a question in hopes of rising Hanorah's spirits a little from what she was thinking of, and with luck, it worked. The two talked about Dumbledore and Hogwarts until Hanorah finally looked at her watch and exclaimed that it was time to go to bed otherwise they'd never get up in time to visit Diagon ally the next day.  
  
Dain walked into her bedroom in a daze. All the negative thoughts of ever stopping traveling were swept from her mind as she thought of some of the people she would meet in London. Suddenly life was wonderful: She was going to Hogwarts.  
  
~*~  
  
Well that's that! I hope you liked it, reviews would be awesome and I promise that next chapter will have Harry in it, but I won't post it until I have at least a couple of reviews, thanks!  
  
~*~Lizzy  
  
By the way I would just like to point out that Lizzy wrote this chapter all on her lonesome!! So any thanx should go directly to her!! Ok so I hope you liked it! I certainly did!  
  
*_* Lorelai 


	2. Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes

Thank you all so much for reviewing! Here are my replies,  
  
SpiderSquirrel: Here it is, I hope you're not disappointed!  
  
Biddet da Pigeon Stalker: Sorry it took you so long to find, this is just the same chapter as in the original but I promise I'm working on chapter three and I know it's gonna be fairly long.  
  
Thanks!  
  
~*~Mystical Dreams  
  
Disclaimer: I own none of the Harry Potter Characters or anything that relates to Harry Potter.  
  
Some things never change, Chapter 2: Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes.  
  
Harry Potter walked slowly down the street of Privet Drive towards an old square house a short distance away.  
  
The neighbors, watering there perfect green lawns and strategically planned flower beds took no notice of the ruffled looking, baggy clothed boy that they would normally consider as an embarrassment to human society, and that's the way he liked it.  
  
Harry Potter was wearing an invisibility cloak, his father's to be exact, he used it often these days, not wanting to be heard or seen by anybody, usually keeping quietly to himself and his own thoughts, though sometimes being alone with his own musings became too much for him, the pain of losing his Godfather had engulfed him the first few days of the summer holidays. All he did was stay in his small bedroom at number four Privet Drive and relive the horrible moment when he witnessed Sirius falling into the veiled archway at the Department of Mysteries. But things were different now, he knew he would never get over the great loss and the empty space in his heart, though it had shrunken only slightly, would never be filled. After some days of useless pain and misery, he had come to the conclusion that he could not possibly live this way forever, wallowing in his own self pity would never work for the rest of his life. He had finally plucked up the urge to get out every once in a while, walk about the streets of Little Winging, though he never talked to his Aunt, Uncle or cousin, and they never talked to him, that's the way things went these days and he didn't mind at all.  
  
He had gotten used to peoples company again, sometimes he preferred to be on his own on those occasions when he was feeling a bit depressed or sad but sometimes he felt horribly lonely with no one to talk to and today was one of those days, he just needed to be in someone's company, to talk to someone about every day things, simple talk that took his mind off of other things, and that's why he had Mrs. Figg.  
  
His dear old neighbor that he had known for many years now had become a source of information and cure for his loneliness over these past weeks, someone he could talk to about the wizarding world, someone who knew what he was going on about, and even though she was a squib he liked to listen to her non stop babble, it was somehow calming to him in these days of trouble and sadness.  
  
He saw her frequently, and sometimes when he was lucky, members of the Order would drop by for a cup of tea at her house when he was there, to catch up on what was going on. The most frequent of the visitors was Remus Lupin, Harry thought that he had become somewhat of a savior to him but what he did not know was that the former professor felt exactly the same way about Harry. They had both been a vital link in Sirius Black's life, and both suffered greatly when he had vanished through the veil. They kept each other motivated, and Mrs. Figg helped them along.  
  
As Harry reached the door of the small house he heard the normal meowing of cats and his heart jumped happily when he heard two voices, the unmistakable, squeaky voice of Mrs. Figg and the calm one of Lupin's.  
  
He knocked on the door and heard the patter of footfalls on the old carpet inside. He hastily took off his invisibility cloak as the door opened and he met the face of a weary Lupin, but as soon as he saw Harry all traces of tiredness were swept away and replaced with a large grin.  
  
"Hello Harry" he said brightly, holding the door open as Harry stepped inside.  
  
"I've got good news". Remus closed the door behind him.  
  
Harry looked up at the grinning face of Lupin and smiled back, something he hadn't done in a long time, it felt almost alien.  
  
"What is it?" he asked eagerly as they walked down the hall towards the kitchen.  
  
"Well since it's your birthday tomorrow"-  
  
Harry stopped dead in his tracks, he had totally forgotten about his Birthday, it had all together slipped from his mind, many little things slipped his mind lately, they seemed very unimportant and insignificant compared to what was going on in his own head.  
  
"You alright Harry?" Lupin asked suddenly sounding concerned.  
  
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine" he said moving again.  
  
Lupin didn't look convinced but kept going anyway.  
  
"I asked Dumbledore if we could go to Diagon Ally to get your new school supplies and"-  
  
"Really?!" Harry said in disbelief.  
  
"Yes, and Ron and Hermione will be coming too, and Tonks" he added grinning happily at the look on Harry's face.  
  
Though Harry got out every once in a while and had been updated on the Orders findings and doings he had been yearning to see his friends for a long time now and was delighted to hear that he would be meeting them again.  
  
But a slight trace of worry flew across his features and Lupin picked it up straight away.  
  
"You can wear your invisibility cloak if you want, I don't suppose you'll want to be swooned by every witch and wizard there will you? It shouldn't be too crowded tomorrow anyway, there's some big assembly at the Ministry of Magic for witches and wizards in London"  
  
Harry's heart went out to Lupin, he new exactly how he felt and it made him feel secure and wanted.  
  
"Thanks, I will"  
  
"Well now that that's settled!" old Mrs. Figg said staring on at the two, "Anyone for a cup of tea?"  
  
Harry nodded but Lupin looked on regretfully.  
  
"Sorry, I have to dash, I have to go and do something important for Dumbledore, but I'll meet you here at around eleven tomorrow Harry, and don't forget to tell your Aunt and Uncle"  
  
Harry would have felt somewhat downhearted at having to inform his relatives but this small annoyance could not outdo his content mood.  
  
"See you tomorrow then" Lupin said cheerfully.  
  
"Bye" Mrs. Figg and Harry said in unison, and with a loud 'CRACK' Remus Lupin disaperated from sight.  
  
~*~  
  
The morning of the next day Harry was feeling happier than he had in months as he sat outside the doorstep of Mrs. Figgs small house, for once enjoying the sunny day and not ridiculing it as he had done so many times before for not suiting his mood.  
  
Mrs. Figg had gone out after breakfast, claiming desperately that she hadn't enough cat food left to feed all of her precious pets because she was put on duty last night, for what, Harry had no idea.  
  
He sat quietly, watching the small doings of those in their front yards; it seemed so simple compared to the many events he had gone through in his life.  
  
His thoughts were disturbed however by a loud CRACK shortly followed by the smash of glass.  
  
He jumped to his feat and started towards the cabbage-smelling living room.  
  
He caught sight of a distressed Tonks sprawled out on the floor next to a shattered crystal vase.  
  
"God damn! Why was I born with absolutely no sense of direction?!" She said clearly annoyed.  
  
Harry put out his hand to help her up with a smile. He had missed the Joking Tonks over the summer.  
  
As she got up, her hair, which was today a long and silky black, flowed behind her.  
  
"Thanks Harry! So, how have ya been?" She asked, her voice suddenly sounding cheerful as she muttered 'repairo' and the vase sat once again whole on the coffee table.  
  
"Not too bad" He said honestly. There was no point in denying his feelings, he knew nobody expected him to be as happy as sunshine. "How've you been?"  
  
"Alright, dead tired though, Dumbledore has us all working over time" She said gazing around the house.  
  
Harry didn't bother asking what for, he didn't get told much of the Order's doings, only the basics and his thirst for information wasn't as strong as it used to be. "Where's Ron and Hermione?" Harry asked eagerly.  
  
"Oh, they should be here any minute, there coming with Remus by floo"  
  
As if on que, there was a loud SWOOSH from the fireplace and Hermione stepped out covered in soot.  
  
She distractedly started brushing herself off until she looked up and saw Tonks and Harry standing in front of her.  
  
"Harry!" She exclaimed, and ran up to give him a hug.  
  
"How have you been? What's been going on? Oh, I hoped your relatives hadn't been treating you too bad!"  
  
It didn't seem to have crossed Hermione's mind that it was only yesterday that they had talked in a letter.  
  
She let go of him and then looked up at his smiling face.  
  
"You and Ron make me feel so tiny!" she finished with, happy to see him smile.  
  
A second SWOOSH came from the fireplace followed by a third and Ron and Remus stepped out.  
  
"Harry mate! How you been?" Ron asked coming up to Harry and clapping him on the back in a brotherly way.  
  
"Fine now" he said, a grateful smile spreading across his face as he looked at both of his friends.  
  
"Happy Birthday Harry" Remus said smiling at him, though suddenly the smile turned into a frown as he asked "Where's Arabella?"  
  
"She went down to the corner shop to get some cat food" Harry replied.  
  
"I hope she notified someone" Tonks said also frowning.  
  
"Oh don't worry, I smelt Mundungus's reek coming from the bushes next to the house"  
  
"Right" Tonks said unimpressed, "Well we better get going then"  
  
"How are we getting there?" Hermione asked, "Harry can't go by floo"  
  
"We're taking a port key" Remus said calmly.  
  
"You can't tell me Fudge approved that!" Ron said.  
  
"Actually he approved to the port key fully"  
  
Harry, Ron and Hermione stared at him in disbelief.  
  
"We're taking a public port key"  
  
"Oh" Ron said understanding, but Hermione and Harry both just looked on with blank expressions.  
  
"The wizarding world have public port keys?" Harry asked.  
  
"Well yes, it's just like muggle subways, they take you to the main places" Tonks explained.  
  
"Oh" they chorused together.  
  
"The nearest one's a fair while away, there aren't any other wizards in Little Winging, we'll have to walk to it, though it will take less time then normal muggle transport" Remus said.  
  
"Alright then, lets go, otherwise we won't be back until midnight!" Tonks said approaching the door.  
  
"I'll leave a note for Arabella" Remus said quickly whipping up a piece of parchment and quill.  
  
They all followed Tonks out of the door, who seemed quite impatient to get there.  
  
Harry walked along in his invisibility cloak, talking quietly to Hermione and Ron about his uneventful summer and asking them about there's.  
  
By the time they arrived at the place the port key designated it was late morning and the sun was shining bright on the trashed ally way.  
  
Remus strode straight towards a large pile of trash and pointed at a deflated soccer ball, "this is it everyone"  
  
They all walked up to the port key and after Harry had made sure he had a tight grip on his invisibility cloak, touched it and with a familiar pull on his stomach the alley turned upside down and they all hit the cobbled streets of Diagon Alley.  
  
Remus was right, the usually crowded streets of the much loved shopping area didn't look like they had been this empty for years, there were still witches and wizards walking in and out of shops in dribs and drabs but not enough of them for Harry to run into.  
  
"So" said Tonks, a happily, "Where do we go first?"  
  
Hermione took out her new list of supplies for their sixth year at Hogwarts.  
  
"Well I need to go to Flourish and Blotts"  
  
"Of course you do" Ron muttered so only Harry could hear.  
  
"I'd like to check out this new store, Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes I believe it's called" Remus said grinning.  
  
They all nodded in agreement, even Hermione looked excited about visiting the new joke shop.  
  
They decided to pick up their money at Gringotts first of all and then work their way around towards the shops they needed for their new school supplies.  
  
They first of all went to Flourish and Blotts, then proceeded to Madam Malkins robes for all occasions as, if it was possible, Ron had grown at least two inches taller and his robes were far too small. They then stopped for ice-cream and went on to find how Fred and George's business was faring.  
  
As the walked down the road to the joke shop they could hear loud bangs and shouts coming from inside and then a resounding "FRED IT WORKS!"  
  
Hermione stopped just outside the joke shop door and looked at it quizzically.  
  
"Do you think it's safe?"  
  
"Only one way to find out!" Ron said brightly.  
  
They all stepped into the brightly painted joke shop that they had heard so much of. The walls were violent red and the counter in the middle was painted canary yellow.  
  
As their footsteps echoed in the half empty store two red headed boys poked their heads around the door to another room at the back of the shop. They were shortly followed by the head of a boy with dark dread locks that's tanned face was hidden behind thick black soot.  
  
"Ah! Look who it is! Welcome to our humble shop!" Fred said as he came up to meet the group.  
  
George followed and went up to shake their hands, "As you can see, we don't have much yet, but would you be interested in a wet wonder wild, catch your friends when they least expect it, or maybe a double dunker, kill two birds with the one stone, or maybe what your really looking for is a skiving snack box, and old favourite, get you out of any trouble any time!" he said pompously, whisking Tonks away, who just kept laughing as she saw all of the items for sale.  
  
"Hey wait a minute where's-?" Fred asked but cut himself off as he saw a hand materialise out of thin air.  
  
"What the hell?!" Lee Jordan exclaimed, confused as he also caught site of the waving hand.  
  
"Hey I know that hand!" Fred said.  
  
Harry fully took off his invisibility cloak and stood before them bowing.  
  
"Holy crap! George! George have a look at this! Harry has an invisibility cloak!" Fred shouted, bouncing over to his twin.  
  
"What? Huh? Nah he can't!" George exclaimed from behind a dusty shelf.  
  
"Well he does, have a look!"  
  
George emerged from behind the shelf and saw Harry standing with a transparent cloak in his hand.  
  
"Whoa! Where'd you get it?" George asked in awe, "Me and Fred-"  
  
"Fred and I" Hermione corrected automatically.  
  
"Whatever, yeah we've been trying to get our hands on one of these forever!"  
  
Remus smiled proudly at Harry.  
  
"From my dad" Harry said looking at it, "Comes in handy"  
  
Fred and George beamed at him proudly also, then George faked wiping a tear away from his eyes, "taught him all he knows"  
  
"Ahhh, always knew he would be brilliant at breaking the rules!" Fred continued.  
  
"No wonder we gave him the Marau-"  
  
Fred clapped a hand over George's mouth, and coughed distractedly.  
  
Remus' face suddenly went into a thoughtful frown, and then he said hesitantly.  
  
"You know about the Marauders map?"  
  
"Er.yeah, how do you know about it?" Fred asked.  
  
All eyes turned to Harry who was trying to shrink into the shadows but was failing miserably.  
  
"Harry, would you care to explain a couple of things?" Remus asked.  
  
"Alright" he sighed, "firstly, Lee do you know about the map?"  
  
"Yeah"  
  
"Tonks?"  
  
"Yes"  
  
Remus looked at her surprised.  
  
"Mum told me about it"  
  
"Oh"  
  
"So Harry, how do Fred and George know about the map?"  
  
"They're the ones that gave it to me in the first place"  
  
"We found it in Filches confiscated draw in his office" George said.  
  
"Do I want to know how you got it from the confiscated draw?" Remus asked smiling.  
  
"Oh it was easy, a couple of dung bombs and a slight distraction and we whipped it up!" Fred said proudly.  
  
Remus sighed rubbing his brow; they both reminded him so much of his two old friends.  
  
"So how did you know about it?"  
  
"Well considering I helped make it."  
  
Fred, George and Lee all looked at Remus dumbstruck.  
  
"You-your-you helped-you knew-YOU'RE A MARAUDER!?!?!" Fred blurted out.  
  
"Yes, and so was Sirius"  
  
"Wait a minute!" George said holding up his hand and then started muttering to himself "Moony.werewolf.Padfoot.black dog.Wormtail.filthy good for nothing rat.Prongs.Prongs?"  
  
"Stag" Remus supplied.  
  
"Oh yeah, a stag!"  
  
"So you're telling us that you were one of the criminal master minds behind Hogwarts?" Fred asked unbelievably.  
  
"Yeah, that would be right"  
  
"But your so.Remus!"  
  
"Who do you think supplied all the right spells for the pranks?"  
  
"Well.ah.good point, ok so now I can see where you fit in"  
  
"Fred will you stop babbling and shut it for a minute!" George exclaimed. He was rubbing his forehead.  
  
"So let me get this straight.you were Moony, a werewolf.Sirius was Padfoot, a dog.Wormtail.a rat.that would have to be Peter Pettigrew, right?"  
  
Remus nodded.  
  
"And Prongs.a stag..." George's eyes widened as it suddenly dawned on him, "Prongs was James! Harry's dad!"  
  
"Yes, that's right" Remus said, his eyes were staring at George but Harry thought they had a far away expression as if he was remembering other things.  
  
"Hey Fred, Lee! We worked it out!" George exclaimed dancing about.  
  
They all looked at Remus awe struck until Lee snapped out of it and went up to shake Remus' hand.  
  
"An inspiration professor, and who would have thought?"  
  
"You'll have to tell us all about your pranks, everything! Who would have thought, the marauders being right under our nose all these years and we had no clue!" Fred said.  
  
"I swore I thought I heard Sirius and you calling each other Moony and Padfoot one time"  
  
Remus felt a painful jab in his gut as he was reminded of his best friends, but he didn't let it show.  
  
"Well Ron, Hermione, you haven't been talking much have you?"  
  
Ron's ears went red at the attention suddenly being directed at him and Hermione perked up her head.  
  
"Oh yeah.well Harry told us about it when he got it" he looked over at Harry and then added, "naturally"  
  
Fred nodded, "thought as much"  
  
"Well we better head off if we want to get back before night fall" Remus said looking at the group.  
  
"Alright but before you go we have a little surprise for Harry for his Birthday" Fred said grinning, and he took out a bottle of bright green liquid and handed it to Harry, who stared at it perplexed.  
  
"Make sure your victim smells this little beauty and they'll start to get spots"  
  
"But not just any spots, green spots!" George chimed in.  
  
"Then their skin will turn a bright shade of yellow and to top it all off, hair will start to sprout from their nose!" Lea continued.  
  
"And whala! You have a walking human freak!"  
  
"It lasts for about three hours, one squirt should do the job, right in front of their nose"  
  
"Or to make it more inconspicuous, spray it on their robes" Lee said happily.  
  
"It's to use on Snape!" George whispered in Harry's ear.  
  
Harry laughed.  
  
"Thanks"  
  
"Aw shocks!" Fred pretended to blush.  
  
"We also supplied afternoon tea!"  
  
Lee picked up a square cake off the counter that was cut into large pieces.  
  
"I don't know about Lee but from what I've seen, you two couldn't cook if your lives depended on it!" Tonks said with suspicion in her voice.  
  
"We're good cooks!" George said indignantly.  
  
Ron snorted but as his stomach groaned, went to get a piece anyway.  
  
Everyone looked on nervously as they watched him take a bite of the rich chocolate.  
  
Suddenly there was a loud POP! And everyone looked around to see where Ron had gone, though they looked no further when they heard a little squeak coming from down on the floor.  
  
Ron had shrunken to the size of a teacup and was mouthing off at the large forms of Fred, George and Lee. Though this had no impact whatsoever on them as his voice was as squeaky as a mouse and he was twenty times smaller than them.  
  
The three boys erupted in fits of laughter soon joined by the rest of them at the sight of a miniature Ron who was waving his tiny fists at them all.  
  
Finally Hermione wiped the tears of laughter from her eyes and bent down to pick up Ron in her hand.  
  
"Don't drop me!" he squeaked which made everyone laugh even more.  
  
"How do you get him back to proper size?" Remus laughed.  
  
"Why would you want to do that?!" Fred exclaimed, settling a bit, but he walked to the room out the back of the shop and after a considerable amount of thumping and crashing around came back out with a miniature piece of cake. He then handed it to Ron who looked at it suspiciously and then ate it in one go.  
  
There was another loud POP! And Hermione and Ron both landed in a heap, Ron's normal size returned.  
  
"I thought you would have learnt not to take anything from us by now little bro!" Fred exclaimed starting to laugh again.  
  
"I was hungry!" he whined.  
  
"Ron get off my hair!" Hermione winced.  
  
"Well we better be off boys, nice to see you" Tonks said giggling slightly.  
  
"Alright then, See you later" George gave them a wink; they couldn't talk about the order around Lee.  
  
They all waved their goodbyes and started out the door, Harry throwing on his invisibility cloak, though as he walked out onto the street he nearly bumped into to someone. He didn't know what made him look back at the person, it could have been her beautiful dark hair or her unusual dress sense, she looked the same age as him, but something about her was oddly familiar, he just couldn't think what.  
  
He slowly caught up to the others, who hadn't noticed her at all, though he had and as he walked home he couldn't help but dwell on that unforgettable face, wondering what on earth could have triggered his mind like that.  
  
~*~  
  
There you go! Second chapter done! It would be really great if I could get some more reviewers, so make sure you tell anyone and everyone!! Review PLEASE! I'll give you a cookie *pleading puppy dog eyes* Well thanks for reading anyways, I hope you liked it!  
  
~*~Mystical Dreams 


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